Ravens regard draft as deep, with more draftable prospects than usual

Morgan State defensive back Joe Ranking intercepts a pass and returns it for a touchdown.

Morgan State defensive back Joe Ranking intercepts a pass and returns it for a touchdown.

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Arkansas FB Kiero Small highlights.

Arkansas FB Kiero Small highlights.

Aaron WilsonThe Baltimore Sun

The Ravens are hoping to capitalize on a draft regarded as unusually deep.

Unlike previous years where the Ravens have graded 140 to 150 players as draftable, this spring they've rated roughly 180 players as worthy of picking at some point within the seven-round draft.

Because only so many players will actually be selected, the Ravens will be looking to mine the undrafted free agent class.

"Certainly, we won’t be picking [all] those guys, but our scouts have deemed those guys as draftable," Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday during a predraft news conference. "That tells me that if we’re doing our jobs, we should do a really nice job in undrafted free agency, because we’re going to target a lot of those guys that we think are good players that don’t get drafted and try to add those guys after the draft.”

"I’d say just through the process of setting the board, we’ve had the luxury this year of sorting through more names than less," Ravens director of college scouting Joe Hortiz said. "Some of the positions are more stacked than others, which contributes to the volume of names. But overall, I’d say it’s a pretty solid draft.”